caregiver tip - Traumatic Brain Injury Council

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TBI
There are over 1.4
million new cases
of brain injury in
the U.S. each year.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates there are over 1.4
million new cases of brain injury in the U.S. each year.
• That’s about eight times the number of people newly diagnosed
with breast cancer and 34 times the number of new cases of HIV/
AIDS.
• Over 50,000 people in the U.S. and over 1,000 people in
Washington State die each year from TBI.
• TBI causes over 200,000 hospitalizations and over one million
visits to emergency departments in the U.S. each year.
• Many people sustain a TBI but do not die and do not seek care in a
hospital, so they are not counted. The exact number of persons
with TBI is much larger than we really know.
• At least 5.3 million Americans, or about two percent of the U.S.
population, have a long-term need for help with daily activities
because of a TBI.
• Among American children between ages birth to 14 years, TBI
causes about 2,700 deaths, 37,000 hospitalizations, and 435,000
emergency department visits a year.
The cost of TBI in the U.S. is estimated at over $56 billion a year in
medical costs and lost work.
WHY ARE WE HEARING MORE ABOUT TBI NOW
There is a growing awareness of TBI as a “hidden” or “silent” epidemic.
• A TBI often is not apparent from looking at the person who has it.
In the past, many of the problems of TBI were wrongly attributed
to other causes, such as mental health conditions.
• Health care professionals, community service workers, and the
general public are becoming more aware of the short-term and
long-term effects of a TBI.
• In the past, concussions often were not thought of as brain injuries.
There is growing awareness that they are.
M ODULE 1
PAGE 6
More people are now surviving TBI than ever before because of:
• Better emergency response systems, such as expanded use of
"911" and faster transport to trauma centers.
• Improved safety technology, such as airbags, infant and child car
seats, seat belts, sports helmets, and military body armor.